Norman Rockwell's Incorporation of His Life in His Art Work

“Some people have been kind enough to call me a fine artist. I've always called myself an illustrator. I'm not sure what the difference is. All I know is that whatever type of work I do, I try to give it my very best. Art has been my life.” – Norman Rockwell (source: Brainy Quote)

The famous visual artist Norman Rockwell has been able to successfully capture emotion from the hearts of those who view his Realist paintings. In the article Rediscovering Norman Rockwell from the art history journal American Artist, the author Henry Adams explores how Rockwell became the great artist people consider him today, along with inserting some of Rockwell’s famous images to support and aid his claims. “At one time, critics condemned his artwork as nothing more than kitsch . Now, however, his paintings fetch $1million or more a piece (Adams .54)” Adams argues that Rockwell was one of the 20th century’s greatest artists and this was due to the perplex connections he drew from his own life experiences and the world around him that led him to showcase this in his art work.

 Adams’ first begins to support his argument by providing the reader with background information about Norman Rockwell’s life and how Rockwell acknowledged it in his art work. Adams states that Rockwell’s illustrations achieved the impact they created because they touched on deep-rooted anxieties. “In many ways, in fact, Rockwell's actual character was completely at odds with his reassuring public image. Consider these examples: He underwent analysis by the famous psychoanalyst Eric Erikson; he voted for Norman Thomas, the Socialist candidate for president; he had the poetry of Rimbaud read to him as he painted; he opposed American military involvement in Vietnam. Moreover, his personal life was by no means the happy ideal suggested by his paintings (Adams 56) ” The author then discusses how Rockwell was married three times; his first wife was unfaithful and committed suicide and his second wife became an alcoholic and was manic depressive. However, Adams finalizes his claims by arguing that suffering was part of what connected Rockwell with his immense audience. Rockwell's anxieties helped connect him to viewers of his art. Rockwell has even been quoted saying, "I sometimes think we paint to fulfill ourselves and our lives, to supply the things we want and don't have…”

The author continues supporting his main claim by discussing how Rockwell transformed his traumatic life experiences into a self-motivation allowing him to progress his artwork. Adam’s delves into Rockwell’s depressive condition; he was chronically depressed and this made him very anxious. Rockwell soon began working long hours; about 10 hours a day, seven days a week, helping him to create over 4,000 paintings. Despite the large number of painting he produced, Adam’s states that Rockwell was very adamant in making sure every little detail of the painting, from the shoes his subjects wore to the writing on newspaper his subjects may have been holding. This flawless execution is what Adams argue helped make Rockwell a phenomenal artist.

Adams lastly supports his main argument by detailing the reader of Rockwell’s success during the 1940s and 1960s that led to him being recognized and respected as a great artist. The author goes into much detail about Rockwell work The Four Freedom’s, “based on …the central principles of the American way of life: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear (Adams 58). In this serious of Painting’s, Rockwell broadened his horizons by incorporating people of all types from various backgrounds helping him to explore social and cultural issues such as racial inequality. During the 1960s Rockwell became passionate about Civil rights and created a series of images exploring this, such as The Problem We All Live With, which showed an African American student, Ruby Bridges, being escorted to school by federal Marshall’s.

In conclusion Henry Adams detailed in his article Rediscovering Norman Rockwell, how Rockwell became the great artist he is considered today. Rockwell establish himself as a respected artists by incorporating connections from his life experiences into the image he projected for us all to see.  

Works Cited 
 Adams, Henry. "Rediscovering Norman Rockwell." American Artist 66.(2002): 52-76. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. Apr. 2012.

BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. Apr. 2012.